


just a drop of light

by cutiepiehansen



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Character Death, Implied Character Death, M/M, THERES LIKE TWO CUSS WORDS I THINK, Tangled AU, There's a little blood, Very OOC, evan isn't helpless, idk i'm not an experienced tagger, is that called freeform?, it follows the disney movie tangled a lot, little bit of violence, most belong to pasek and paul while one belongs to disney, no characters are mine actually, really it's just supposed to be kind of cute man, seriously connor and evan are different people, yeah i stole mother gothel hehe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-06 06:39:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11595009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutiepiehansen/pseuds/cutiepiehansen
Summary: a locked away princewith a magical voicemeets a dashing outlawand things get prettywell tangled.if you couldn't tellit's a tangled/rapunzel aushort storyand it's a lot like tangled in the beginningbut slowly goes off onto it's own path (and worse)OC and jd from heathers are bad guys :|very ooc characters





	1. prologue

9 months of celebration was reaching it's peak as the queen, queen heidi, was reaching the due date for the new heir of the throne. the kingdom rejoiced when the news was announced for the kingdom loved their king and queen and their soon to be prince/princess. the royal family was kind to their people, satisfying what they could and always putting the people before themselves. the were selfless and noble, like any kind and queen should be. 

that's why when the queen was pronounced ill, the kingdom went into a frenzy to find any remedy for her. the best apothecaries gave their best guesses, but nothing worked and as time passed, the queen was losing a battle. the town seemed to lose hope as fast as the king was. he was strong for his people, but without his wife, he knew he'd never survive. 

no one smiled for weeks, until rumors spread of a magic flower growing in the nearby forest. one day, the sun shined so bright that a drop of sunshine dropped onto the earth, a flower able to heal sickness and defy age sprouting from the golden essence. and the town became vacant, villagers searching high and low anywhere for the golden shimmering flower. 

but someone had already beat them. a woman named gothel lived in the woods, nothing bringing her joy except her own beauty. when she had found the flower, years before, she used the power for her own benefit by singing a song, using it's powers to turn back her clock making her younger. 

**(to the tune of the finale with minor changes)**  
_all we see is light for forever_  
we let the world pass by  
for forever  
feels like we could go on for forever  
this way 

_all we see is sky_  
watch the sun shine bright  
we could be alright for forever  
this way 

_this way_

as she sang, a shimmering gold dust filled the air around her and the flower, and she breathed it in, feeling as if a new flame of life was entering her and her clock rewinded, making her younger. she let out a relaxed breath, interrupted when she heard the shouting from villagers and lights from lanterns, quickly covering the flower with a handful of dry leaves. but, as if one purpose, when she ran away, a gust of wind passed trough blowing the leaves away, revealing the magical flower as the people passed.

the light reflecting off the petals caught a guard's eye and everyone rushed to examine the flower, immediately knowing what it was. "careful!" the head guard commanded as they pulled up the flower, making sure they protected the roots, gothel watching behind a tree angry as they dug up _her_ flower and carried it away. 

an apothecary, going by the name of aaron beck, mixed the queen's drink of the flower and other healthy tea leaves, giving it to her. she sipped it carefully, with the help of her husband, and a week later, gave birth to a healthy baby prince they named evan.

the kingdom rejoiced, for they had a new member of the royal family and an heir. on his first month, the queen and king released a floating lantern into the sky, the little baby boy watching curiously as it floated into the blue sky, all the townspeople rejoicing watching it fly. and the baby giggled. 

but that night did not end as well as it had started. as the king and queen went to sleep in the room next to the nursery, an intruder stepped foot into the castle, undetected. gothel slipped into the nursery, admiring the baby boy's glowing features. but she didn't want the boy, she wanted his gift. she began to sing softly, waking him, but nothing happened. she began getting agitated as she continued the song, but the baby was unfazed, staring curiously at the strange woman above him. 

realizing she couldn't do anything at that moment, she picked up the baby making him cry at the sudden, jerking movement waking up his parents. they bursted into the boy's room, seeing the cloaked figure escape through the window with the prince in her arms. that was the last they saw of their son. 

the woman decided to raise the prince as her own son, keeping him locked away in a tall tower in the middle of the woods from the outside world for his "protection." she had lost the gift once, but never again, she vowed. she had discovered how to unlock the power, too, so every night, before the two went to bed, she had him sing her a song. his voice was like soft rain on tree leaves, sunlight on flower petals, anyone could get lost in it in an instant. she sighed, feeling his voice rejuvenate her, feeing younger as he finished his song, holding his mother's hand. 

on the night of his seventh birthday, he looked out his window, waiting for the floating lights to appear, feeling drawn whenever they would light up the sky as if they were more special than why meets the eye. "why can't we go to see the lights?" he asked, looking up at his mother who was brushing and cutting his short hair. "they're so pretty." 

"the world is a dangerous place filled with dangerous people. you mustn't ever leave this tower, understand?"  
"yes, mother," the child sighed, eyes lighting up as the first light appeared. guess it'd just be another year watching from the window.  
"goodnight, my flower." she kissed the top of the boy's head, motioning him up the stairs to their shared room. 

"goodnight, mother." but that didn't stop him from admiring the lights from the smaller bedroom window. as the first one twinkled, leading the sea of others, something started bubbling in the child's chest, feeling as if the light was a beacon for him, and he waved.


	2. if i were

evan hummed, watering the small bonsai tree, making sure it had plenty of sun... then doing the same for all 20 others of his plants. most would think the blonde was crazy being so content with his redundant life, each day like the last, but it was all evan had learned to know. sure, days when he was alone all day became a little hard, but he'd managed being alone so far. many days, he did his chores, took care of his mini forest, maybe sketched or read, and dreamed of the outside world he felt secluded from. having basically almost 18 years of free time can really get your imagination going, filling evan's mind full of pictures of sun shining through trees and rain drops on flower petals. 

the tower he called his home was surrounded by a waterfall and rocks surrounding the area. evan dreamed of the feeling of the lime, lush grass below, imaging the greenery feeling soft to the touch, dotted with wild dandelions and others wildflowers. god, he'd do anything to step foot outside the tower walls, and he was determined to convince his mother he was ready as he was turning 18 soon. "evan! evan my dear, i'm home!" his mother called from below making the boy shudder with joy and anxiousness. today would be the day he would tell his mother his wish. and he wouldn't chicken out like all the other times. 

"coming mother!" he called from above, touching the seed planted in the pot on the ledge, humming a low tune. slowly, a sprout came up slowly forming leaves and a vine, trailing down the small lip of wood and down, attaching itself into the rocks. you see, along with the power to heal and turn back age with his voice, evan had also obtain the power to grow and heal plants by his voice. green inched itself to the forest floor, forming grip holds so the woman could climb up. 

once she stepped foot in the small area, the vine grew back into itself, encasing itself into the seed, waiting to be grown again when she'd climb down. "i'm here, my little sapling," she greeted her son, kissing the top of his head. she had always called him her little flower, but he told her he didn't like it with a blush when he was about 12.  
"hello, mother," he greeted back, bringing in a chair, knowing what she wanted to do. "c-can i, um, talk to you? about something kind of important?" he asked cautiously making gothel sigh, falling into the chair, fatigued.  
"i'm not sure, evan. i'm awfully tired. why don't you sing to me, you know your beautiful voice always seems to cheer me up," she insisted, the teen quickly nodding his head, grabbing his mother's hand. he sang the song way too fast for gothel to even comprehend he had started before he had finished, but it got the job done. all her grey hairs were gone, and the lines in her face had become smooth. "jesus, evan," gothel scoffed making evan blush.

"anyway, mother," evan began, "well, um, my birthday is coming up and-"  
"no no no. i specifically remember your birthday was last year."  
"you see, that's, uh, the special thing about bir-birthdays. they're kind of an... annual thing. anyway, i'm turning eighteen this ye-year and there's really only one thing i-i want," he began explaining shakily, beginning to walk to the window he'd always watched the floating lights from. "the lights they-"  
"ugh, this better not be about those dumb lights they put off every year," she interrupted, but that didn't stop evan from rambling on about them.  
"can't you please just let me go? i feel _drawn_ to them, like they're more than what meets the eye. like maybe... they're meant for me." he opened up the curtain, letting the light shine in, forming a ring he was standing in.  
"that's preposterous. it's a stupid thing the queen does every year _for no reason_ and a fire hazard." 

"but mother, please just hear me out-"  
"evan. i don't want you leaving this tower. there's bad people out there who would take advantage of your innocence for their own gain. the world is full of scary beasts and cruel people, and i've kept you in this tower for your own protection. i don't want to risk anything now, do you understand?" feeling guilty, evan nodded. his mother had protected him all his life, and now he just wants to throw it away just to look at some lights? he doesn't even know what the lights are! his mother was right, it was preposterous. but then again, his mother always did seem to be right.  
"yes, mother."

"good. now, i don't want to hear about this again."

~•~

"wow look at that view," connor admired, leaning on one of the castle's many towers, looking over the east side of forest, a waterfall off in the very distant.  
"come on, murphy, we need to get this done before we're caught up here," jared kleinman instructed, zoe pulling her brother to the task at hand. below them, the prize sat in the center of a square of guards, but the most ironic thing, none of the guards were watching the actual item. the perfect way to obtain it was an aerial attack. connor was the best subject to be lowered into gallery because he was lighter than jared, but more agile than zoe. 

the three were a trio of, well, thieves. there was no real way to sugar coat that explanation. the siblings met jared shortly after they were orphaned, and the rest became history after that. they looked out for each other, making sure one didn't get caught, and shared what they earned. with the item they ere planning on taking, it'd be a lot. connor was slowly dropped into the room, easily grabbing the item off it's perch, deciding to see how long it'd take for the guards to notice him. 

all of the sudden, one of the guards on duty sneezed. "bless you," connor said, tugging on the rope, being whizzed into the air as the hairs turned around, gasping. the three hurried off the roof, running into the woods, getting a head start from the guards who had the advantage of horses. "stop immediately!" the head guard shouted making jared laugh as the trio kept running.  
"ha! like that'd stop us," jared tainted, throwing a rock at one of the soldiers, knocking off his helmet, but he couldn't be fazed by it. soon, though, the gap between them was lessening, connor running in front because of his longer strides. 

"you two hide and relocate. they'll only be after me i'll meet you at the town square tomorrow at dusk," connor instructed.  
"were not leaving you connor," zoe protested, pushing herself to keep up with her faster brother since she was behind him.  
"go zoe. jared. i've done this before, i can do it again," he argued, practically pushing zoe. the two did so, distracting the horses, diving into the bushes buying connor a few more feet. 

"leave them! we just need to retrieve the item!" the guard instructed making connor let out a sigh of relief, but before he knew it, he was on the edge of a cliff. it was a dead end. "the gig is up, murphy. give us the bag and we can end this peacefully." connor looked around, seeing if there was anything he could do, not able to see the ground because of the fog at the bottom. the only thing on top of the cliff was a frail tree and a very thick vine, but it was wrapped around the tree. someone had been here before. 

"i'm sorry, sir, i really am," connor said in mock sincerity as he backed up, closer to the edge,"but i can't do that." in one swift motion, he grabbed a handful of the vine, and stepped off, feeling the wind as he dropped.  
"quick! cut the vine!" the guard commanded, but it was too late. connor latched onto the side of the cliff, under the fog, dissipating all of the velocity, and dropped because the ground was only a feet feet under him. when they had cut through the plant, the butt end landed next to connor on the ground.

he heard the galloping of horses, probably trying to find a way to the bottom of the cliff, so he had to find a hiding place quick because he was way too tired after the chase through the whole forest to be chased again, and he's sure he'd be caught. 

he looked around for a good hiding place, maybe a tree with a lot of coverage, or a lake he could submerge himself in when they passed, but nothing was looking good enough. connor sighed, trying to keep down his panic, and decided to lean against a moss covered rock, but he fell through the curtain of green, finding himself inside a small tunnel into a clearing. perfect.

he walked through, taking in the beauty of the area, before he noticed the elephant in the... clearing? a looming tower stood in front of him, almost as tall as the rocks surrounding it, but not quite. connor shrugged, thinking it was probably something long forgotten, and decided to scale it to see if anything interesting were inside. he used an arrow he found in his messenger bag, and started climbing, slowly taking himself upwards. 

when he got to the little ledge, he looked inside, not seeing anyone, but it looked like someone had been living there. oh well, it didn't look like they were there. he stepped into the circular room, opening up his bag, picking up the item, looking as it glowed in the light. anyone would kill to be holding what connor was, and he smirked at that thought. but that thought was interrupted when he felt a sudden shock go through his head, pain so excoriating that he was knocked out instantly.

evan yelped when the taller hit the ground, holding his frying pan, unconscious, noticing what he had been holding. a rattle?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aww baby evan is so cute  
> okay so yeah prologue woop  
> poor heidi :( btw that's the last of evan's dad haha he died (rip)  
> there will be bad parodies of the songs btw (just wtaw and sb/ss actually)  
> some other musicals will be making appearances and i'll basically just update when i feel like it because i have it all written


	3. to jump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please respond: do you all want a dramatic ending or not? and if you have or haven't seen the movie won't make a difference. it involves something completely original to me  
> i mean it'll only be a minor detail but i need to know before i write the final chapter and if no one says anything it'll be the less dramatic ending because it's already written but it's easy to change

evan heard his mother's voice as he just shoved the boy hapfhazardly into his closet. "i have a surprise!" gothel shouted, a spring in her step as the vine grew down the stones.   
"um, i do too," evan responded, barely loud enough for his mother to hear, looking back at the closet holding the stranger. maybe if he showed his mom he protected himself from the intruder, she'd understand and take him to see the lights. she wouldn't think he was some delicate little flower.  
"ha ha! but mine's better!" she bragged.  
"i seriously doubt that," evan whispered to himself as his mother stepped into the living area. 

"guess what, i'm making hazelnut soup for dinner! your favorite!" his mother exclaimed, emptying the ingredients from her basket to make her son's favorite meal. it wasn't his favorite meal, though, it was hers, but evan never bothered to say anything. he only smiled at her, even though she wasn't looking.   
"th-that's great, mother, but i really have something to show you!" evan told her, backing up, ready to open the closet door. "i know you think i'm helpless, but i'm really not. i did something today that-"  
"oh evan, this better not be about the lights thing again," his mother scolded, but evan wasn't ready to back down.  
"i-i mean it kind of is, b-but-" 

"i told you my answer already, evan."   
"but just hear me out, please!"  
"no!"  
"mother, please! just let me-" his hand was hovering over the handle, ready to open it, but his mother had had enough.  
"enough of this already!" she yelled, scaring her son out of his shoes, "you are not leaving this tower, _ever! / _" evan looked at her, with blown eyes, slowly lowering his hand, his hope deflated. "great," she commented, falling into a nearby chair, exasperated, "now _i'm_ the bad guy." __

___evan looked around, trying to change the subject quickly, seeing and empty spot between two of his pots. "i-i just wanted to tell you," he began, subtly motioning to the empty spot, "i know what i want for my, um, birthday. s-see that empty spot in the tree section? a-a cumberland bush tree would fit there perfectly." gothel's eyebrow arched at the request._  
"those only grow on the north coast and it takes two days to travel up there, and two back. are you sure that's what you want?"  
"yes, mother." gothel sighed, but stood up and nodded.   
"then so be it. i will see you again in four days time." evan packed his mother a basket full of food, water, and other necessities for the journey, seeing her out. "i love you, my sapling."   
"i love you more," he responded, as his mother descended to the ground.  
"i love you most." 

__now evan just had to worry about the boy in his closet._ _

__•_ _

__connor woke up feeling terrible, letting out a low grown as he did. he tried to move his hand to grip his throbbing head, but realized they were both tied down to a chair, along with the rest of his body with... a vine? it was like the one he used to land on the ground, but it was constantly moving, twisting and turning which scared him making him think it was a snake at first. he struggled, trying to break through the plant, but the vine seemed to only grow in diameter, stronger. "struggling... struggling will get you n-no where," a shaky voice said, but no one was around connor.  
"wha- who's speaking?" he heard the sound of more vines, and suddenly an outline of someone was standing closer to him, but still protected by the darkness. "step into the light."_ _

__the other followed his captive's instructions, stepping where connor could see him, trying to look far more confident than he actually was. connor was appalled by the other's beauty, his honey hair and stormy blue eyes that you could get lost in. he looked clean and pristine, like porcelain. "who are you, and why are you in my tower?" connor coughed, snapping out of his daze, noticing the frying pan in the blonde's hand. _that's what he must've used to knock him out_ connor thought to himself as his head's throbbing was more evident. he also noticed the end of the vine wrapping itself around the blonde's other forearm. he wasn't controlling the vine, was he?  
"i know not who you are, nor how i ended in your tower, but might i just say," he began, sincerity evident in his voice. he almost had the blonde convinced, before he smirked, showing a toothy grin saying, "hi, m'names connor murphy." _ _

___evan arched an eyebrow, clearly not impressed, gripping his weapon tighter. he couldn't show connor fear, it'd show him as weak when too many people already believed that of him. well... one person saw him as weak, but that person was the only person in his life. "wow okay, usually i hook them with that," connor mumbled to himself, clearly seeing how unamused he was. "um, listen, i didn't mean to trespass or anything, now if i could just leave with... wait, where's my bag?" he panicked, noticing it wasn't near him.  
"i hid it where you will never find it," evan responded, his hands on his hips confidently. connor surveyed the room, seeing the an empty plant pot, the perfect size to fit his bag.   
"it's right there, isn't it?" he heard the sound of the frying pan connecting with his head he fore everything was dark, once again._

___"ahh! would you stop that! it really hurts!" connor complained when he could see the world again.  
" _now__ it's in a spot you'll never find it."  
"listen blondie,"  
"my name, is evan." 

___"okay _evan_ if you just let me out of these... vines and give me back my bag, then i'll be out of your hair. isn't that what you want?"  
"and what's so important about what's in the bag, hmm? what if i want to keep it? it is important to you, yes? tell me why i should give it to you," evan interrogated making connor roll his eyes, the blonde wasting his time. evan was surprised that connor bought that he didn't look in the bag. well, he, _technically_ didn't, but he knew what was in it.  
"i just need what's in the bag, okay? it's none of you business, or your concern. i just need my bag back," he huffed. _

___then, it hit evan._  
"the lights. take me to see the floating lights, and i'll return your o-so precious satchel," evan proposed.  
"you mean the lantern thing the queen does for the lost prince on his birthday every year?" connor questioned making evan's eyes widen finally knowing what they were.   
"y-yeah. yes! the floating lanterns," he said, "take me to see them, and return me back to my tower in four days time. then, you can have you satchel back." connor didn't respond at first, looking at evan as if he were crazy.   
"sorry, i'm not a tour guide," connor shrugged making evan roll his eyes.  
"just take me into the city, let me see them, and then we'll return. that's all i'm asking." 

__"listen," connor sighed, not wanting to take some weird person in a tower to see the lights. but, desperate times call for desperate measures. "i didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. here comes the smolder." connor looked up at the blonde, trying to look sexy, yet innocent at the same time. he kept the face for a second, evan looking at him as if he were sick. "this is kind of an off day for me," the brunette mumbled before caving in. "oh fine! i'll take you to see the lights!"_ _

__•_ _

__"are you coming, evan?" connor asked, using the same arrow, carefully climbing down. evan looked down at the grass, trying to prepare himself. would the world be what he had expected? would it be less? more? from the small snippets of the landscape surrounding the building, it was not anything like his mother described, but then again, there was a whole world beyond the walls that evan had never even seen. was is dark and filled with hunters? terrifying creatures that would eat him without a second thought? he was beginning to have second thoughts, not wanting to leave the safety of the tower, but then he's always lived his life safe. maybe it was time for a change, a little risk. he knew it was time for a change. he grew the vine to wrap around his hand and up to his shoulder, before he dropped down, holding the tight as the wind whizzed past him in his ear. he squealed in delight, passing connor who moved his body so he wouldn't get hit by the falling boy. right before he touched the grass, the vine stopped growing, evan's body hanging in a fetal position in the air as he held onto it for fear life._ _

__evan lowered one of his bare feet, so it barely touched the blades of grass, testing to see what it felt like or if anything would happen. slowly, the vine retreated, dropping him fully onto the ground. feeling the dirt between his toes was a foreign feeling to the blonde, but feeling it was like a dream come true. he collapsed onto the lawn, feeling the slightly sharp blades brush against his legs and arms, loving the foreign feeling as he laughed. he had never been so happy. quickly, he got up, running closer to the exit of the secluded area, wanting to see what else he had been missing out on for so long, before his feet entered a cold liquid, making his pants wet. he looked down and scooped up some of the water from the stream in his hands, splashing it on his face, not being able to get rid of the smile from his face. the water was cool to the touch as it dried quickly when he continued running._ _

__when he exited through the short tunnel, he exited making birds fly overhead, into the tall trees. he had never seen trees so tall! only the baby saplings in his tower. he ran his hands over some of the bark, feeling the tree breathing, beating. it was so overwhelming, but so amazing to evan. he was so amazed at the beauty of the world he had never seen before, and he sighed, content, never wanting to leave it._ _

__"thanks for helping me down with that vine, evan." connor scoffed with a sarcastic resentment in his voice. "let's start our journey. we won't get there until tomorrow, and we want to get as close as we can to the city before dark."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please don't forget to respond to the question at the top :)))  
> thank you for supporting this book!!! it has gained so much positive feedback for the short amount it's been up and it makes me so happy so thank you all sooooo much ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> someone encourage me to read my summer reading book all i've been able to think about are new books to write   
> in other news relating to the new books, i have an idea for both a kleinsen and zolana so tell me which ships you want me to write first and they'll relate to this book in a way but (of course) not in the same universe/timeline


	4. would you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a lot of sh*t goes down (including he and connor ha) (read the chapter to understand that joke)

gothel strolled through the forest, on her way to the north shore, worried about evan. of course, she had left him alone before and he'd never tried sneaking out, but something was worrying her this time around. it didn't help she'd be away for so long of a time, either. she trusted the boy, she knew he'd never do something against her command, but she couldn't get the feeling that was shaking her saying something was wrong. she had reached the main trail, and followed it, not minding the set of horse tracks covering up the three pairs footprints which turned into one. a lot of people traveled the path. the thing that did catch her attention, though, was a glint of gold, glaring in her eye from the bushes. she walked over, immediately finding the elaborate helmet, and knew it was the helmet of the royal guard. 

she broke into a sprint, back to the tower. it was approaching dark when she made it back, a storm cloud looming overhead. "evan! evan my dear!" she called up, but no one appeared. "evan!" she called once again, panic lacing her tone. no response. she sprinted to the other side of the base, finding the wall of moss covering the loose rocks as she dug them out. once the rocks were cleared, she stepped in and climbed up the spiral staircase, pushing up the stone in the floor of the living area.

she searched the whole place for evan, not seeing him anywhere making her panic. he couldn't be gone, she couldn't lose her youth. not again. another glint of light caught her eye, coming from under a board making up the staircase. she lifted it revealing the brown leather messenger bag underneath. inside, was a wanted poster for connor murphy and something she thought she'd never see. when she picked up the rattle and realized what it was, she dropped it hearing the jingling as it flattered to the ground. she knew, then, it wasn't a guard that took him. if she found connor murphy, she'd find evan hansen. 

she walked into the kitchen, opening a drawer, revealing the biggest knife they had, and she grabbed it, knowing she'd do whatever she had to get evan back. 

•

"so you've been in that tower for 18 years?" connor asked the blonde walking besides him.  
"uh, yeah... pretty much i guess. mother t-told me that my parents gave me up. t-that they did-didn't want children, that i was unwanted and then she... found me," evan explained sadly, pulling on connor's heartstrings.  
"i'm sure that's not true, evan. maybe they couldn't afford to raise a children and knew you'd have a better life with someone who could provide for you," connor suggested, evan only shrugging in response, not wanting to talk about it again.  
"so what about you, connor murphy? what does a guy like you do daily?" 

"i- well, i'm not the most noble guy, you know. the simplest way to put it is that i can't help getting into trouble, i guess. i'll spare you the details," evan nodded, getting the gist, but he didn't judge the other. "hey, you should meet my two friends, well one is my sister, but she still is one of my best friends. their names are jared kleinman and zoe murphy."  
"oh. did you three get split up?"  
"yeah." 

they continued walking like that, only small, awkward comments about the trees of the weather filling the silence,until an arrow whizzed past connor's head, landing in the tree trunk next to him, barely missing his head. "quick, hide," connor instructed, to evan who did as told, hiding behind some nearby trees, but watching. he was too nervous and scared to do anything else. connor inspected the arrow, recognizing the craftsmanship. "come out, i know it's you jason," connor called. a tall brunette stepped out from the brush, quiver full of arrows and a loaded bow in hand. "what do you want jd?"  
"i want you dead, murphy. i was the one who was supposed to steal the crown, not you."  
"i didn't steal the- woah!" connor began, but stopped when he had to dodge another arrow. "i didn't steal the fucking crown you moron," connor tried to explain, but jd kept shooting arrows at him. 

"liar! tell me where it is, and i won't kill you."  
"i don't-" connor never got to finish the sentence, because he stepped on a trap, getting his caught in a suspended net, obviously jd's set trap. "jd, let me out of this damn thing. this isn't funny and i didn't steal the crown. i need the prince's rattle for-"  
"why in the hell would you want the rattle? the queen keeps that thing heavily guarded for no reason! it's worthless. you only could've stolen the crown," jd spoke, beginning to climb the tree. "if you won't tell me where the crown is, i'll just have to turn you in for the reward. not as much, but it'll suffice. 

"hey! i kind of need him to take me to see the floating lanterns, so if you let my friend go, that'd be much appreciated," evan spoke up, stepping out from behind the tree.  
"yeah, your friend isn't going anywhere, but with me," jd laughed, beginning to cut the net from the tree, wrapped around the branch.  
"evan, i got this," connor said. even though he obviously didn't have the situation under control.  
"come on, he really didn't steal the crown. just let him go," evan pleaded making jd roll his eyes.  
"no way! now scram or else i'll take care of you myself after murphy here." 

"okay, fine, but don't say i didn't warn you," evan said putting his hand on the ground, feeling the connection of the tree connor was hanging from through the grass. he sang a single low note, sending a powerful pulse through, to the tree, knocking jd off the branch, landing on his back and head.  
"fuck," he hissed, "i think you broke my skull." evan grabbed the knife jd was holding and climbed up the tree, swiftly cutting connor down so he landed next to jd, on his arm making him hiss in pain also.

"now if you excuse us, we'll be on our way. best wishes!" evan scurried over to connor, helping him up and setting the knife next to jd's hurt body, running away from the clearing. 

jd passed out from the immense pain. 

•

jason woke up with a throbbing headache, seeing it was the middle of the night. warmth was hitting his back, and he noticed he was still laying on the forest floor, memories flooding his brain. murphy. he turned over and sat up, seeing a woman with a cloak sitting next to her tending to the fire. "here, drink this," the woman said, handing him a makeshift bowl holding a green liquid. "it'll help with the headache." he does so gratefully, not caring if the woman was lying or not, his head felt like it was going to explode.  
"why are you helping me?" he questioned, feeling some sort of relief washing over him once the liquid was downed. 

"connor murphy doesn't have the crown, but he does have something much more valuable."

•

"that was pretty cool, what you did back there," connor complimented as he and evan sat next to each other in front of a makeshift fire.  
"oh- i um, thanks. i'm not sure how i got my powers, i just r-remember my mother got me a plant one day and i put it my nightstand, and when i woke up, it was c-covering the bedframe and walls," evan explained, looking down at his hands as if they were the most fascinating thing in the room. well, maybe they were. connor shifted in his seat, wincing as he did so, catching evan's attention. "is something wrong?"  
"just landed wrong on my arm is all. no biggie," connor waved off. 

"i think i can help," evan said to him, lifting up his sleeve with the lightest touch he could. his arm was splotched with yellow, bruising skin, some parts red and inflamed. "oh gosh, i think it's broken he said, making connor's eyes widen. he took both of his hands, holding the part that was the most swollen delicately making connor visibly wince harder. "sorry, just relax, and don't freak out." connor took a deep breath and waited, wondering what in the hell evan was about to do, confused as hell as evan sang.

 _all we see is light for forever_  
we let the world pass by  
for forever  
feels like we could go on for forever  
this way

__

all we see is sky  
watch the sun shine bright  
we could be alright for forever  
this way 

_this way_

as he sang, yellow light flowed from evan's hands, wrapping around connor's injured arm like golden thread. he tried not to panic or freak out too much, feeling the skin and bone physically heal. when he finished, evan waited, as the light soon went back to dark, scared as to what connor was going to say. "th-that was, um," he stammered out, looking down his fully healed arm, speechless.  
"y-you don't have to say anything. i-i know." 

"hey, the fire is dying so i better- you know um- get some firewood. um, thank you," connor observed, standing up and going into the woods. evan only sighed, running a hand through his hair, connor was shocked, he couldn't blame him though, but at least he didn't scream. 

"evan? oh thank god i found you! you must come back, he's bad news. a thief who's wanted all over the area. come with me before he comes back," gothel rushed, making evan frozen in his seat at his mother's voice.  
"mother? wh-why are you here?"  
"we need to get you home, my darling. it's unsafe, especially with that thief. has he hurt you?" he asked, fake uncertainty in her voice. truth is, she'd been watching the pair for a long time.

"no mother," evan spat, eyes hardening, finding a new sense of courage swelling in his chest. he was finally standing up to his mother. "i've fallen in love with the world you have locked me away from. i can take care of myself, and connor is not just a thief. he's caring and loyal."  
"fine," gothel huffed, pulling the leather bag from under her cloak, throwing it to evan, all the orginal contents in it. "let's see how loyal he is when you give him that back.  
"i will."  
"but don't you dare come running back to me when he leaves in the dust, just like they all do."

in a second, she vanished, evan now holding the bag that had started it all. "hey, i saw a clear path-" he stopped talking and dropped the wood after he saw evan's slightly shaken figure and flushed face, "are you okay? what's wrong?" he asked, sincerity in his tone as he touched evan's arm in a comforting way softly, looking in the other's stormy eyes filled with worry and regret.  
"n-nothing. i-i'm fine," evan insisted, hoping connor didn't notice the brown bag hidden in and hollowed tree trunk behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n  
> this was a very long chapter and i'm very proud of myself  
> here's where most of my original elements come into the plot so i'm excited to see what you all think :DDD  
> my next (well this is my plan) book is going to be kleinsen but it'll be jared centric (beCAUSE MY BOY DONT GET A LOT OF LOVE) and it's like lowkey inspired off of another disney movie but it doesn't follow the plot like this one does with tangled and idk i'm very excited like the first chapter is turning out really good
> 
> anyway KUDOSAND COMMENTS MAKE ME VERY HAPPY I WILL LOVE YOU FOR FOREVER ❤️❤️❤️ (i can't promise i'll update any earlier because i know i'm updating monday)


	5. be there

it was morning when they began their journey again. it was evan's 18th birthday, and every step closer they took to the town, seemed to raise a new possibility of something going wrong in his head. "what if one of the lanterns malfunctions and the whole city gets caught on fire?"  
"don't worry evan, someone would stop it before it got too out of control. and they've never caught fire before." 

"what if mother is there and she sees me and takes me back to the tower before they start?"  
"she won't, if she does, i'll be sure to hide you. i promise."  
"what if-"  
"evan, nothing is going to go wrong, i promise. we have each other's back if it does, okay? it'll all be okay," connor consoled him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, making evan nod and let out a breath.  
"if only i could convince myself that," he muttered to himself. 

about noon, they reached the entrance to the city making evan's excitement and anxiety pool in his stomach. the aroma of flowers and fresh baked bread filled the air making him calmer as he admired the flower stall, feeling the flowers respond to his touch by leaning into his fingertips slightly. "these are my best sellers. do you like those, young man?" the elderly woman asked from behind the cart.  
"yes, they are very beautiful. i can tell they like you," evan commented making the woman smile even though she didn't understand that evan could the flowers did love their caretaker. 

"here you go, a beautiful flower for a beautiful boy," she praised, putting a peony behind his ear, caressing his cheek gently.  
"thank you very much, ma'am. you are very kind," he complimented, making her smile more as he walked away. he was surprised at how soft her touch was. he'd never had someone touch him so softly before, it had only been harsh tugs and forced affection. 

"i got us some bread," connor stated as he walked up to the blonde, "don't worry, i paid for it." evan smiled as he ripped off a piece of the warm loaf and ate it. 

they spent most of the afternoon exploring the town, evan talking to a lot of the townspeople. a lot of the people seemed to like him which surprised him. it was so much warmer than he had expected it to be, both in temperature and how people treated him. he stopped, hearing a foreign noise, but it was very... pleasant. "what is that?" evan wondered out loud, deciding to follow it, connor trailing behind the best he could. they walked between two buildings and came out to see a trio of musicians playing three different instruments. people were gathered around, listening happily, some clapping along, but evan decided to do something more. 

being in that tower alone, evan had a lot of free time, obviously, and one of the things he did was write poems. none of them were amazing or anything, but it was something to do, to fill his time. except one, one stuck out in his mind. so he sang, fitting the lyrics into the melody. 

" _i've learned to stay out of the way,_  
never have everyone's eyes on me.  
before i make a mistake,  
before i lead with the worst of me."

the musicians seemed to like it, and went with it, and the listeners seemed to like him too. they didn't even notice that their minor injuries seemed to heal instantly. 

_"on the outside always looking in_  
will it ever be more than it's always been  
cause i'm look look look looking out  
i'm waving from my window." 

connor smiled, watching the other enjoy himself, before someone grabbed his shoulder making him jump. he was nervous to turn around. it could be a guard, and he could be taken to jail while evan would be left clueless in the city. "connor, it's me," jared spoke making connor let out a deep breath of relief. "i didn't expect to see you in town so early!" he exclaimed, hugging his friend when he turned around. "where's you bag? did you lose the rat-?!" jared exclaimed making connor quickly put his hand over the other's mouth to keep him from causing too much of a scene.

"no i didn't lose it. i know where it is, and right now, i'm trying to get it back. just... don't worry about it, okay? i have it under control." jared only rolled his eyes when connor lowered his hand.  
"hey, con, who's this?" evan wondered as he walked up to connor and jared. jared smirked, finding the other quite cute. 

"my name is jared kleinman," he introduced, kissing evan's hand making him blush immensely. "enchanté."  
"e-evan," he stuttered, with a blush, making both of the other boys want to see awe loud. 

"so how did you two meet?" jared asked, making connor and evan start stumbling out half answers. evan because he thought jared would think he's weird for being in a tower for the past 18 years, and connor because he didn't want to admit he was knocked out by a frying pan... twice. "you know what, nevermind. come on, zoe's at alana's," jared said, but connor quickly stopped him.

"no, i can't. um, evan, can i talk to jared for a second?" evan shrugged and then walked away, back to the musicians, while connor led jared to a secluded place. "he has the rattle, and i can only get it back if i take him to see the floating lanterns. i'll be back by tomorrow at noon, okay?"  
"wow, he doesn't seem like one to blackmail," jared commented making connor let out a short snicker.  
"yeah, well that's not the weirdest thing about him." 

•

"where are we going?" evan asked as conor helped him into the small canoe. it was a little shaky, but he managed with only a little trouble.  
"well, it's your dream to see this, thought you might want the best view," connor explained as he rowed away from the dock. 

"your majesty, it's time," a guard stated as heidi fixed her necklace so the large sun emblem was evident. it was her husband's necklace.  
"thank you," she said as she walked out and onto the balcony. everything was silent as the sun set in the background, and she untied the lit lantern from the small pedestal, letting it fly into the air remembering the first time she ever did was with the two closest men in here life, but now they were both gone. the people closest to the castle, lit their lanterns starting a chain reaction and slowly, the darkening sky was filling with the floating lights. 

evan gasped, seeing the lights as they lifted into the air, he rushed to the tip of the boat, almost tipping it over. the moment was magical, a mixture of emotions bubbling inside of him. it was so much better than he had expected, just like everything else he'd experienced of the outside world. the lights spread out as they got farther away from their launching point, soon filling the dark negative space with light.

connor admired how in awe the blonde was, the lights reflecting in his eyes, enhancing the spark of happiness that was evident in them from before. evan thought the lanterns were beautiful, but connor found something else was more enchanting. 

evan looked over to see connor staring and he smiled, sitting in the middle of the canoe. "hey, i was, um, scared to give this to you, thinking you might leave me, but now... i'm not scared anymore," evan handed connor the leather bag, but connor only denied it, forcing evan to lower it.  
"neither am i." 

and after that, the world was in slow motion. both felt it, the perfection of the moment, the romantic atmosphere pushing them together, and right as their lips started brushing together, something behind evan caught connor's eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry to the people who haven't seen tangled for the the cliffhanger :(  
> i should be able to update in 2-3 days but i'm going on a trip for the next 5 days so if i don't post in a while that's why but i should be able to and if i can't it'll be the first thing i do when i come back :)


	6. at the bottom

"is something wrong?" evan questioned as connor pulled the boat onto the shore of the small island, facing the city. it was a little dark for evan's preference.   
"yeah- no! no no no, just give me a minute, okay?" connor said, the leather bag around his shoulder. he walked away from the boat, leaving evan alone and nervous, standing next to the boat. his nerves were acting up, as he tried to keep down all the thoughts about all the negative things that could possibly happen.  
"nothing will go wrong. it'll all be okay," evan whispered to himself, holding onto the tip of the boat.  
connor walked into the fog, seeing jd sitting on a rock, making one of his infamous arrows. he took the bag off his shoulder and threw it onto the ground in front of jd's feet, the rattle spilling out onto the gravel. "take this, jd. it's much more valuable than the stupid crown if you just give it to-" 

"it's nothing material i want. you see, at first, yeah, i mean the crown would have me set for life, but a little birdie tells me that you have something much more valuable," jd stated, an uneasy feeling growing in connor's stomach.   
"leave him alone. he hasn't had the chance to experience life, yet. don't take that away from him," connor said in a stern voice, eyes squinted as jd stood up, same height, maybe a little shorter, than connor.  
"too bad, because he'll make my life much better. "

before connor respond, he felt something hit the back of his head, making him immediately faint, slumping to the ground. "nice job," jd complimented gothel who was holding a large piece of driftwood. she only sent him a sinister smile.  
"get the boy. i'll take care of him," she commanded, lifting him up and onto the boat next to them. 

evan let out a major sigh of relief when he saw the silhouette walking towards him, thinking it was connor. "thank goodness. i-i thought you left me," he said, but then he saw the face of the shadow and it was not connor.   
"he did," jd told him, motioning to the boat sailing from the dock, connor handling the wheel, bag in hand. evan's stomach dropped eyes widening and breath quickening as the wheel moved, sailing closer to the city shore, father away from him.

"n-no you're lying," evan said, mainly trying to convince himself.   
"it was a simple trade, really," jd began, circling the scared boy, "the prince's rattle and his freedom, for the boy with the magic voice. it was what he had planned all along." evan opened his mouth to do something, tears freely flowing down his cheeks, but in one swift motion, jd was behind him, his hand keeping anything from leaving his mouth. 

"let me go!" but his voice was muffled behind the other's palm. he struggled, against the other, but all of the sudden, he didn't feel anyone wrapped around him. he looked to see him laying on the ground, unconscious.   
"evan? evan, my boy!" gothel exclaimed, dropping the large piece of drift wood next to his body. "oh my goodness, i followed you here and saw this man attacking you." 

the only thing evan could do was collapse into his mother's arms, feeing her wrap her arms around him as he cried. "i'm sorry, mother. i should've listened. i'm so so sorry." 

"i know evan. now let's go home." 

connor was jolted awake when he felt something under his feet hitting something else. he muttered out evan's name, that being the last thing on his mind before he was knocked out, quickly finding his hands tied to a ship's wheel, holding the bag, his whole body was, really. "evan? evan!" he called out, looking behind him seeing the dark island behind him, green light diminished. by then, royal guards were swarming the boat, untying him to quickly put his arms in chains behind his back. "i need to go back! i need to make sure he's okay." he tried telling the guards but they only forced him off the boat and down the pier. he tried his best, but their group grip was just too strong.

luckily, somebody nearby heard his screams. zoe rushed to the dock, hiding behind a post as they drug her brother away, him continuously calling someone's name. she watched helplessly until he finally gave up, slumping in the guard's arms. she was about to leave, to go tell jared, but she noticed the item they left behind. 

she rushed to get on the boat, and she grabbed the rattle before hurrying, running to find jared. "jared! jared!" she called, bursting in the trio's shared house. "connor... they got... him," she explained in between breaths before completely explaining the story, well from what she saw. "but they left this," she informed, holding up the rattle.

"you take it to alana. i need to go talk to the bmc. they can help us."

zoe knocked on the apothecary's door frantically, it being opened by a sleep-deprived alana after a minute of continuous knocking. "what is it, zoe?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.   
"connor was arrested, and i have the rattle," she told her making alana's eyes widen. 

"he was arrested? he's usually so evasive," she commented, more to herself, "come in."   
"jared and i are planning to break him tomorrow, with the help of the bmc."   
"good. i'm going to give you this, this was the reward for the rattle anyway, crush it and make a wish and it'll come true. you can use it tomorrow, or not," alana explained, handing zoe a small glass sphere. "this was why i needed the rattle." alana started crushing up herbs and other items, throwing it all in one small pot over a fire. she had taken over the job as apothecary for her father, but she also dabbled in a little magic having to learn spells and potions from books.

she motioned for the rattle to be put in the pot, and watched as it started bubbling faster, over a little when zoe dropped it into the mixture. after she doused the fire, and the bubbling went down, she took a small bottle and poured the contents into it. small participles of light filled it, twinkling like fireflies, and she handed it to zoe. 

"i wanted the rattle because it was one of the prince's prized possessions. i used a location spell and since the item i used was so important to him, it'll lead you to him. open the bottle when you have the time, and follow it. it'll take you to the lost prince."   
"thank you alana," zoe smiled, kissing her girlfriend quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i'm only uploading this because i got slight sun poisoning and am up in my hotel room by myself :)))


	7. to catch me

connor paced around his cell, trying to convince himself that evan found shelter somewhere and protected himself. he wasn't as helpless as he seemed, but he still couldn't help but worry. jd was known for being unstable and unpredictable, but then again, so was he. his train of thought was interrupted when a trio of guards walked into his cell, not saying anything, sending a sense of dread through connor. he knew exactly what they were there for, and he couldn't do anything about it. maybe he was the one who was helpless. 

the guards put him in cuffs on his wrists behind him as they led him down the hall. other prisoners watched as he traveled the green mile, some sent him sympathetic looks, but he kept his head down, until he noticed a familiar face in the corner of his eyes, slumped against the bars of his own cell. noticing the guard's... _guard_ was down, he knocked the two holding him back off of him and jumped, bringing his hands up so they were in front of him. he grabbed the collar of jd's shirt and brought him up against the bars making the other scared out of his wit. "where is he?! what did you do to him?" he snarled, hearing a swarm of guards coming closer, but he didn't care. he needed to know what happened to evan.

"the woman. sh-she knocked me out," he explained as connor was dragged away, guards surrounding him, swords ready if he tried to escape again. connor walked, seeing the gallows through a small window, panicking on the inside, but he just couldn't do anything. he was alone and trapped  
"he's in danger! you have to let me go!" he screamed in defiance, but the guards weren't listening as he continued walking down the, seemingly, much longer corridor. 

evan sat on his bed, trying to recall all he could of the outside before he'd forget it eventually. the feeling that he'd never leave the tower ever again was seeping in as his mother entered the room. "evan, i'm making hazelnut soup for dinner," she stated, trying to make her son feel better, but he just couldn't, not after the magic of the outside world hooked him. after she left, evan stayed still, not bothering to go down for food. he just wanted to be left alone to think... mainly about connor. did he really just leave evan alone like that? he couldn't of. he promised. maybe his mother was right. maybe connor murphy was just an untrustworthy thief.

the lead guard pulled on the handle to get into the execution chamber, but it wouldn't budge. everyone stood, confused, no one knowing what was going on until connor looked over seeing two chess pieces, one white, one black, both kings. the symbol of the two players, leaders of the bmc gang. the guard knocked on the door loudly, the hollow sound echoing through the hallways. someone sliding the wooden square over revealing a blonde boy with a red steak through the middle of his hair. "why is this door locked? let us in!" he demanded, pounding on the door. behind him, guards were being swiped from their position, knocked out and stuffed in the hallway, unknown to the guard trying to get the door open.

"whats the password?" the guy, connor recognized as rich from the bmc, asked, tauntingly, pushing the guard's buttons more.  
"open up!"  
"nope. try again."  
"open this door, now!"  
"not even close." by then, all the other guards were successfully knocked it, and it slowly dawned on the lead officer. he turned around, seeing connor standing there alone, gobsmacked. 

he was, then, forcefully turned around seeing a tall girl, connor recognized as jenna, showing off a toothy grin, and he knew he was in trouble. after all the guards were taken care of, they broke connor's handcuffs, and michael mell led him into the courtyard. "stand here," he instructed, "arms in, shoulders square, knees apart." connor did so, starting to question what was going on, but not having time to do before he was launched into the air, over the wall. the bmc gang cheered below as they successfully got connor out of there, still fighting off the hoards of guards. he screamed the whole way, somehow keeping the position, before he landed on a horse, groaning from the pain inbetween his legs. 

he heard a small noise coming from next to the horse and opened his eyes to see jared and zoe standing with smirks, feet on the ground.  
"you guys called them, didn't you?" he questioned making the other two nod and snicker basically confirming connor's thoughts. "thank you, i'm being serious. i mean, to the world, we've always been misfits, but i know i'll always be okay if you two are-" connor stopped, noticing the two with unamused faces, "yeah, you're right. i should get going."

zoe put the two items from alana in her brother's palm and explained what both did. "thank you both, and tell the bmc they have my thanks also, but i need to go find evan."   
with that, he was off, racing into the woods to the tower he never thought he'd want to see again. he held both the marble and bottle in his hand, holding onto them tight, until a squirrel ran across the horse's path, scaring it and making the horse suddenly halt to a stop almost throwing connor off, but the bottle slipped out of his hand. he gasped as the lights fluttered out of the broken glass, some delving in between the trees of the forest, while some stayed put. they slowly began spinning, raising up as they did so, almost like forming a tornado of light, until they were spinning around connor. all he could focus on was the lights, everything else left his mind, until he saw visions. visions of the lost prince. 

evan was walking down the stairs when golden balls of lights suddenly began spinning around him, different visions filling his head. he suddenly was looking up at a mobile, golden light flooding the small room reflecting onto evan's face. a small, childish laugh filled the room, seemingly coming from him, and he noticed two strangers watching him from above. they were smiling from ear to ear, joy evident in their eyes. they looked at him with such pride and happiness, he felt himself smile thinking if he recognized them from anywhere. before he could realize how much the two looked like him, it turned dark. 

the smiling strangers were gone and he was alone and he couldn't move. all he could was observe and hear a door open and close. somehow, he remained calm when a familiar face peered at him from above. it was his mother, but older. her hair was silver, and wrinkles littered her skin. she began singing the song she had taught him, looking down as if expecting something, but as her expression soon turned sour, it was obvious what she wanted to happen wasn't. cries filled the room as she reached down and picked him up, bringing him to the the balcony. he heard the door swinging open, seeing the horrified faces of _his parents_ realizing what was happening, but when he saw gothel putting her cloak around him, he woke up.

"evan, dear? are you okay?" said woman asked, hearing a thud coming from the stairs from where evan suddenly collapsed. she saw evan clinging onto the rail, breathing heavily. beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, a bewildered expression on his pale face. when he came to his senses, he looked up to see gothel, and resentment filled his body.  
"you! you've kept me locked up in this tower for 18 years for your own benefit." realizing evan's anger, she tried to justify herself by saying,  
"i did it to protect you. why would you think anything else, my sapling-" raising her hand to stroke his hair, but he grabbed her wrist stopping her, looking at her with so much rage in his eyes, gothel was a little scared as she tried to get him to release her wrist, but his grip was stone.

the plants in the surrounding pots swayed as evan's voice got louder showing much more power than either thought he had since he usually had to be singing to have any control. "no, no you didn't. i know what you did, mother," and then his face turned to hard realizing what he had said, his rage reaching an all time high, "or should i even call you that?" he released her hand. "no more. i'm done being your puppet," he declared, walking away from her not looking back. gothel only grimaced watching him walking away from her, back turned. she promised herself she wouldn't let it leave her again, and she intended to keep that internal promise no matter what. 

"you want me to be the bad guy? _fine,_ now i'm the bad guy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> womp womp   
> idk what the bmc stands for btw i was going to make it something lame like 'be more chivalrous' but yeah that ain't happening 
> 
> two more chapters left!!!


	8. before i hit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: blood, kind of violence, and character death

connor stopped the horse when they the curtain of vines covering the cave entrance to the clearing where the tower stood. he hastily got off the horse's back, moving the green as he ran through it. clouds were swirling overhead, angrily, rain was sprinkling down as connor reached the base of the tower. "evan! evan!" he called up, receiving no response. a far away crack of thunder resonated in the sky. "evan, i'm here!" thinking it was no use, connor began climbing up using his bare hands, wedging his fingertips in between the round stones, not even thinking about all the sea plants and broken pots littering the grass below his feet. 

then, a long green vine fell from the window. he breathed a sigh of relief and he dropped to grab the rope, using it to pull himself up faster. it took a minute, but he eventually made it, stepping through the small entrance. "evan, thank god i thought you were-" connor's eyes widen when his eyes opened to see the boy chained to a post, desperately trying to get loose, cloth tied around his mouth. his screams and pleads are muffled, pleading for connor to leave, but it was too late. 

gothel dropped the knife as connor fell to the ground, blood leaving the side of his stomach. "look at what you made me do, evan! it didn't have to end like this, but, now our secret will die with him," gothel said in a-matter-of-fact-ly tone as she unwrapped the chain from around the pole, pulling the struggling boy towards the open place in the floor.   
"evan," connor cried out, trying to muster up any strength he could to run up and try to help tied up blonde, but he had his own problems he couldn't overcome. 

evan fought as hard as he could, trying to get away from her and to help the dying boy across the room. "stop fighting!" gothel yelled, giving one big tug pulling other back, but also causing enough movement so the cloth dropped, hanging from around his neck.  
"no i won't stop," he cried, looking up at her with tears in the corners of his eyes. "no matter where you take me, whatever you do, i will not stop," evan spat, looking up at gothel with a look of defiance. she looked down at him with rage in her eyes. "but, if you let me heal him, i'll do whatever you want. just let me heal him."   
"e-evan! n-no." connor protested weakly, but neither of the two were paying attention to him. gothel only quirked an eyebrow and unlocked the chains and hooked one around connor's arm, roughly, whose life was leaving him fast.

"in case you have any ideas about following us." he coughed as she dropped his hand, the other trying to stop the blood. evan collapsed in front of connor, holding his face so he could look at him in the eye since connor didn't have the strength to hold his own head up by himself.  
"oh god connor, come on, move your hand," he instructed, quickly putting his two hands on the wound,   
"w-wait," he coughed, "i-i want you t-to know that you- you were my drop o-of light in t-the d-darkness," connor stated wth a weak smile, raising his hand to touch evan's cheek.   
"and you were mine," evan said, trying to keep in the tears. he looked down at the fatal wound, and placed both his hands over the injury, opening his mouth to sing.   
"e-evan, wait," connor said, looking into evan's tear filled eyes again. "i-i'm going to miss you." evan's eyes widen, confused as to what was happening as connor grabbed the glass sphere from his pocket and crushed it. "i-i wish he couldn't sing." evan's mouth opened, as he tried to rush out the lyrics, but it was too late. he watched helplessly as a stream of gold light left through his mouth, out of his body, feeling emptiness afterwards. his voice was gone. 

"no! no!" gothel cried, feeling what she had used the power for, reversing. the dust flowed around the air, creating a small aura of light around the stream, finding it's way to gothel, spinning around her like a snake. her dark hair turned silver, her smooth skin growing wrinkles. she began running towards evan, the stream following her movements, but the dead vine cast to the floor suddenly moved, pulled taught, due to evan's eccentric emotions. she tripped, and fell back, stumbling out the window and over the ledge. she screamed as she fell, but the only thing that touched the ground was her cloak and dust. 

evan opened his mouth, trying to force some sort of melody out of his lips, but it was useless. he couldn't force out a small closed-lip hum. "why you'd do that?" evan asked, after trying to sing again, but it like he just suddenly couldn't let out any sort of note or harmony whenever he tried.   
"i-i love you," connor choked out, wiping a tear that fell from evan's eye.  
"i-i love you too," evan sobbed out, pushing away connor's hair, feeling his life leave him. 

all he could do was sit there, holding connor's body wondering what could've been. " _all we see is sky for forever_ ," ( **this is supposed to be the different** ) he said aloud, not bothering to try to sing it again. the words left him simply, nothing ornamental and nothing dressy. simply, words written on a page. " _we let the world pass by for forever. felt like we could go on for forever that way. this way,_ " at that point, evan let out a dry sob, " _all we see is light, watch the sun burn bright, we could be alright for forever this way. all we see is sky._ " evan was out of tears, except for one that rolled down his cheek, eventually falling onto connor's. "all i see is you," he took a sharp inhale of breath as he held connor's lifeless body, "and that's enough." 

he closed his eyes, letting the dry cries rack trough his body, continuing to hold his lover, not noticing the small burst of light that erupted from his tear that landed on connor's cheek. it traveled down to connor's wound, like a river of gold, finally catching evan's eye as it erupted into a something bigger, mending the fatal wound. evan watched as it lit up the whole room, flowerings of light dancing around the room in their shimmering beauty, until it suddenly went dark again. but evan wasn't paying attention to the brightness of the room, he just cared that connor's eyes were opened and he was smiling up at evan. 

"you know, i always thought singers were overrated anyway."  
"connor!" he cried, this time of joy, falling into connor's arms. "don't you ever do that again!" evan swatted at connor's arm making him chuckle.   
"i'll try not to die on you again," he laughed, suddenly kissing evan who sat shocked, but quickly kissed back, melting into the other's arms as the light from the sun above shined through the windows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao all the action in one chapter and it didn't even end in a cliffhanger :(   
> haha one more chapter people :DDD 
> 
> so yeah connor didn't have any (spoiler) hair to cut off but you know... whatever this was fine right?  
> naw i didn't like this ending and this isn't even the dramatic ending  
> okay so the dramatic ending was that evan becomes mute like he can't physically speak but next chapter he kind of has to speak because sign language isn't a thing yet (i'm pretty sure) and it's not easy writing down everything you want to say like it is with a phone or a notebook and pen like these people had loose sheets of parchment and quills haha have you ever written with a quill? it ain't easy to do on the fly


	9. the ground?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's some drabbles of the royal hansens  
> also a so big/so small parody that makes me cringe (she says all the lyrics but their still in italics)

"my queen," a guard said as he entered, well, more like barged, into heidi's room. she closed her book, looking at the guard before asking what he wanted politely. "someone is here to see you, your majesty."   
"who?" the guard only nodded, with a growing smile, and she knew then. 

heidi ran down the hall, having to hold her dress with one hand to keep herself from tripping on the gown. shes been imagining this day for forever, the day she'd finally meet her son. before she could help it, tears were pricking at the corners of her eyes wondering if she was dreaming. 

she paused in front of the balcony door, being told he'd be waiting for her out there. taking a deep breath, she opened the door seeing a boy with his back to her. hope swelled in her chest when he turned around, looking at the woman who was supposed to be his mom, his real mom. "e-evan?" she questioned as she took a step towards him, looking into her husband's eyes. he looked just like she imagined, her hair, her husband's eyes and other facial features. her hand touched evan's cheek, and he smiled softly, leaning into her delicate touch, the touch he'd been deprived of for so many years. 

they both hugged each other, holding onto each other for dear life, tears of joy falling from their eyes, as if afraid they'd be torn apart again too soon. "okay, i'm just going to let you two..." connor, who the queen hadn't noticed, began catching the two's attention.   
"you. you have brought my son home," heidi said, looking down at her son again, pushing back his hair, "is this man good, evan?" 

"yes, yes he is. we're in love, actually," evan smiled, connor responding with a similar one.   
"i hearby drop all charges against connor murphy. he is also to have a room in the castle," the queen commanded to a nearby guard who nodded. "you're a part of the family now," she told connor, pulling him into a group hug with her son. 

•  
"hey, um, mom," evan said as he walked into the queen's bedroom where she was seating on a chair, reading in the moonlight. "i-i was just wondering, what happened to your husba- dad?" he blushed at his small mistakes, not used to have a healthy parent figure around. heidi only sent her son a sad smile, putting down her book and motioning for him to sit next to her.   
"your father died 8 years ago, a week after your 10th birthday. he was a strong king, evan, but the pain of not knowing his only child was too much for him to bear. the day he died... is one i'll never forget. _it was a february day when you dad called me by before passing away. a dozen doctors in our bedroom. the day it was suddenly real_."

" _all he wanted in life was to see you, and then there were tears streaming from his brown eyes.  
his son that went missing years before. the man he'd never get to see_." heidi grabbed evan's hand, looking down as she rubbed circles on the top of his palm. "i just remember me saying " _goodbye goodbye" and then it was me, with no one by my side. and it all felt so big and i felt so small it just all felt so big and i felt so small._ " at that point, her breathing was becoming ragged, and her eyes were becoming red and puffy.  
"y-you don't have to continue, i-it's okay," evan stated, holding both his mother's hands.  
"n-no," she insisted taking a deep breath, "you might never have gotten to know your father, but you deserve to know this." she paused before she continued. " _that night i went to bed alone. no son in his room, or husband by my side. no one else to hold in my life, just hope that you were out there somewhere. we missed so much, evan. there's moments we didn't get to watch like your first steps or your first words. i knew that there were moments i missed and i knew that there was space i didn't fill and now, we're basically strangers, but i already love you more than you'll ever know, and i know he would too. and i knew that i'd come up short a million different ways  
and i did  
and i do  
and i will_."  
"you've already given m-me so more than i ever thought i'd h-have," evan said making heidi smile, trying to keep her tears in as she continued,

"that night, as he laid in our bed, i remember taking his hand, squeezing it, and promising him something," heidi held one of evan's hands, just like she did with her husband, " _like i did with your dad on that day, i will take your hand squeeze tightly and say 'i'm going to be here, always, i'm not going to go anywhere, i'm going to stay right here' i promise, evan, i'm never going to leave you. you got taken from me before, but i swear on my life, it will never happen again. i'm not going to go anywhere. i am always going to be right here. no matter what i'll be here._

 _til it all feels so big  
til it all feels so small._"

by that point, heidi was crying, holding her son's hand, and so was evan when he hugged his mom wishing he had been there to take some of that grief off her. time together had been taken away from them, but at that time, those moments didn't matter. just the ones that laid ahead.

•

evan nervously fumbled with the his shirt and vest, worry filling his stomach. it had been a week of living in the castle, and there was to be a feast of celebration with all the nobles followed by evan meeting the townspeople. the day it was announced that the lost prince had returned, the town rejoiced and celebrated. lights filled the streets at night, music played constantly, and people danced. evan had never felt so _wanted_. a knock sounded from his door and connor walked in, wearing something similar to evan. "are you nervous?" connor asked, noticing how evan fumbled with his shirttail so much. he only nodded, looking down. "you know the townspeople will love you. they loved you before you were even born. and the day we went through the town, they loved you not even knowing it was you. it'll all be okay, okay?" evan smiled at his boyfriend gratefully and leaned up to kiss his lips quickly. 

"thank you."  
"it's true. you're pretty lovable."  
"no. i mean thank you for going up that tower. i'd still be stuck there, still, if it weren't for. now, i can finally begin my life, all thanks to you. you were the first person that really got to know the real me, the one that didn't care about my powers," evan explained, holding both of connor's hands in his own. connor only grinned, rubbing circles on the top of evan's hand.   
"and i'd do it all again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i was going to make it longer but that's a sweet ending point i think 
> 
> thank you all for the support and for reading this book :DDD  
> my next book ain't gonna be this happy


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